From hospitality to home sales: The founders remaking the real estate experience

2 days ago 5

Maria Findikakis didn’t set out to disrupt the real estate industry, she just wanted to try something new after working in hospitality.

At 33, with two young children and long hours working at the family’s takeaway businesses, she took a gamble.

“Someone told me I’d be good at real estate, so I gave it a go,” she said.

That leap into the unknown not only changed her family’s life, it laid the groundwork for Australia’s first multi-brand real estate network.

Ms Findikakis, her husband Manos Findikakis and long-time business partner Arthur Proios would go on to establish the Eview Group together, followed by Agents’Agency.

Agents’Agency is a nationwide network of more than 150 independently-branded real estate offices selling a reported $4 billion worth of property each year.

But their rise wasn’t planned, it was forged through years of experience, tight margins, and a relentless focus on people.

It all started when Ms Findikakis joined a real estate office in Melbourne’s south-east in the early 2000s and quickly discovered both a passion and a knack for the work.

“It was the first time I’d worked for someone else, but I absolutely loved it,” she said.

Maria Findikakis, Manos Findikakis and Arthur Proios founded Agents'Agency in 2022. Picture: Supplied

Within 18 months, she made a bold request and asked her husband to walk away from their takeaway businesses and join her in real estate. He was reluctant at first because he didn’t want to work in real estate.

“I didn’t want to be a real estate agent,” he said.

“I came to the office in a denim suit, but I was good at admin and Maria was a natural in front of clients, so it worked.”

Six months later, Mr Proios joined them too. They had been business partners in the hospitality industry since the late '80s and shared a rare chemistry built on trust, loyalty and complementary skill sets.

“I didn’t know the product, but I could talk and it all clicked once I got going," Mr Proios said.

Ms Findikakis got her start in real estate in Melbourne's south-east. Picture: Supplied

The trio founded the Eview Group in the mid-2000s, with their Frankston office reaching 50% market share of their patch within the first year.

The idea that changed everything

It was the early momentum and how they worked together that planted the seed for something bigger.

They had seen firsthand how many great agents struggled when launching their own offices.

“They’re amazing with clients, but they burn out doing compliance, bookkeeping and other admin,” Mr Findikakis said.

“We realised we could build a model that let them focus on what they’re best at.”

That insight became the foundation of Agents’Agency: an end-to-end support platform that handles the operational heavy lifting, so agents could scale confidently without being buried in backend chaos.

The trio rebranded Eview Group into Agents’Agency in 2022, as they reshaped the business and expanded into new markets.

Ms Findikakis said their early trial run had proven the concept.

“Arthur and I just focused on listing and selling, and Manos ran the admin,” she said.

“We were rookies and still hit 50% market share, and it worked because we didn’t have to worry about anything else.”

Mr Findikakis said home sellers followed agents rather than brands because real estate was a service industry. Picture: Supplied

The business has faced questions about the impact of having a variety of brands within a single network.

But the trio argue that their secret sauce has been allowing agents to operate under their own name and identity, while providing a national infrastructure to support them.

“People said we’d dilute the brand but vendors don’t follow brands, they follow agents because it’s a service industry,” Mr Findikakis said.

“You want to connect with someone who makes you feel safe and will get you results - it’s not about the logo on their signboard.”

Mr Proios said the business gives back to the community in a variety of ways. Picture: Supplied

It’s a perspective that has underpinned the network’s rapid expansion, with offices spanning every state and territory, and the founders have set their sights on growing the number of partner offices to 325 over the next few years.

Family first

Despite the scale, the company still feels like a family business in a number of ways. The next generation works with their parents in the business, learning the ins and outs of real estate from the experts.

The deep personal bond between the founders remain strong after many years.

Ms Findikakis first met her husband and Mr Proios in Greece in the late 1980s when the two lads were backpacking through Europe.

She moved to Australia, married Mr Findikakis within months, and never looked back.

Mr Proios, a lifelong friend of Mr Findikakis, joined the family through a marriage to Mr Findikakis' cousin.

“We’ve never had a serious argument in nearly 40 years,” Mr Proios said. “If we disagree, we sort it out or we play rock-paper-scissors.”

The sense of family extends to their corporate team and the hundreds of agents they support.

“Our goal is to create a safe, inspiring environment where people can do amazing work and live great lives,” Mr Proios said.

“Real estate is a lifestyle - it's hard to separate the personal and the professional.”

Giving back

Outside of work, the trio spend their time with family, friends and a range of different passion projects.

Mr Findikakis works on a regular blog and has written the business books, Building Your Own Real Estate Practice and The 60 Second Entrepreneur.

The Findikakis family regularly travels back to Greece to visit loved ones, and Ms Findikakis enjoys finding old homes in need of love among the villages of Crete and renovating them.

Mr Proios gets involved in community projects, committing time to groups like Smiles for Life where he can give back to the community.

The business gives back to the community in other ways too, whether it’s donating sales commissions to charities or holding charity auctions for grassroots causes.

They also host wellness retreats for agents and their families, with the next conference taking place in Crete in 2026.

“It’s not just about helping agents open offices,” Mr Findikakis said.

“It’s about helping everyone in the industry, from our corporate staff to the families of the people we work with, to live better, more balanced lives.”